My Grandmother used to call it “Gag at an ant, swallow an elephant.” People are unwise to nature and its healing capabilities. A girl the other day on Facebook was talking of how new ageism is actually devil worship. A guy under her post said that anyone that speaks of Mother Nature hates God. Another person that I mentioned CBD to looked as if he had fear in his eyes and asked what it would do to him even though he is on an enormous amount of pharmaceuticals. Where have we gone in our heads?
When I was growing up, there was breadcrumbs of Ayurveda everywhere. My Grandma used to walk me through her herb garden and speak of the different herbs. She carried clove in her apron and down the street a man with severe arthritis carried a little cannabis joint around in his pant pocket for the days he worked harder. We are shocked by practices such as this but not at the little lady who is fifty and looks seventy and has a purse full of pharmaceuticals. Or the guy who’s legs have turned to logs because of gout who keeps upping his medication but is dying slower, definitely not living longer. People who have weight loss surgery without dealing with the root problem of food addiction. Why doesn’t every doctor’s office have a nutritionist? Why are we afraid to speak about food and digestion in matters of wellness? How can we encourage people to begin practices of nourishment and healing in today’s world. How can we show people how powerful that they are themselves in their own healing?
I refer to the human body as a temple because it truly is one. Can you even imagine what a miracle of our body that takes care of us on such an optimum level, even while most people abuse it on a daily or even hourly basis. How can we treat our marvelous embodiments better? I say we continue to go back over and over and over again to practices of non violence and love toward ourselves and in this, we begin to heal and resonate that healing outward.
I have five ways to take our practice and our bodies more seriously.
1. Call your body what it is. A temple. Love. Magic. Marvelous Structure. Acknowledge with every cell in your being that you ARE amazing. You ARE limitless. When we feel this on a deep emotional level, it creates a space in our psyche that may just bring more realization of loving action toward ourselves. More awareness on how the body feels after eating foods that are made from chemicals or laying around all day opposed to movement and flow. Abundance manifests in our lives when we can see ourselves for the amazingness that we are. Avoid negative self talk. Remember that our cells are listening. Move and flow daily. Work the stagnation out. Studies show that 13 minutes of yoga a day is enough to change your life and rid lower anxiety and depression. Imagine being able to lower your medications just by stretching and flowing for thirteen minutes a day. Most of us can imagine this to be doable in our lives.
2. Start small. "Rome wasn’t built in a day” Our bodies have been manifested through billions of years of higher intelligence that grows through a dynamic of nature. We get to be in these temples for a few short years. Walk on a path that is habit forming and not goal oriented. Habits keep us on the path opposed to keeping us attached to an outcome, so we do them and they enhance our lives without us living in tomorrow or yesterday. This is because when we are actually enjoying a habit we are more in the now. Atomic habits and 365 Days With Self Discipline are two of my favorite books to bump you into some better habits.
4. Pick your toxicity wisely. Our body has a purification system. So toxins that come in are flushed out by the lymphatic system. All of our systems work together beautifully to make this happen. BUT, our body is not going to be able to keep up with overloaded amounts of toxins. These days, most of us have an addicted loved one or a mean spirited coworker that we have no choice to have limited time with. The television is toxic, the news is negative and sometimes violent. The commercials are loud and invasive. Packaged and processed food have chemicals in them that are full of toxins. So how can we limit toxicity. Avoid negative people. Limit your contact with them, and if they draw you in, ask yourself what part of you have you not healed that you are still attracting this energy into your life. If you really want to get well, you will begin to chose people that are more in alignment with a loving lifestyle and that you are not constantly experiencing disharmony in your involvement. Turn the TV off, or at the least, silence it during commercials or during invasive loudness. And try to eat more whole foods. Set a meal prep time that you work towards. I like to meal prep on Sundays. I find this time joyful. Pour yourself a glass of iced green tea, put on some good music and zone into your food prep for the week. Avoid too many trips to the pharmacy. Look up a homeopathic choice, or even better, prepare your system seasonally for upcoming allergies or flu season by boosting your immune system or enjoying a light fruit fast for a day every week. There are many ways and as always, ask your physician before doing any practices that will be contraindicative to your prescribed medications.
5. Enjoy your daily prayers and meditations. After I read the Hidden Messages in Water, I realized the power of words. It is a good practice for us to speak our dreams and desires. This is a way for us to manifest. Make your dreams come alive through manifestation. Speak and ask for what you wish. Wish upon your stars. Write in your journals. Say your prayers. And on the other side of that, declutter your mind. We declutter our closets, our spice drawers, and our makeup drawer. WE MUST DECLUTTER OUR MINDS. The world sometimes seem to be going crazy and you can see most definitively people are allowing their worlds to be run by their emotions. It seems we lack control of our abilities to listen, to watch, to wait before speaking, and to control our reactions to what is around us. This decreases our fight and flight system and enhances our parasympathetic which is where our body is in its most relaxed state. This encourages homeostasis in every system of our bodies. Meditation is key. Begin with 2 minutes a day and go from there. Make the time, build the habit. And if you do not know how, find a way. If the desire is there, we all find the way. It is possible to build on a habit. These practices work, and this is why they have become so popular. We must learn to listen and become comfortable with stillness. This is where all of manifestation begins. In the silence. Remember the words, “Be Still And Know.”
These five ways are the beginning. Try them. Remember that you can read a hundred books on yoga or meditation or how to get a better life but everything manifests in action. In the present moment. In not only setting intentions but in doing the work. And the work creates a beautiful life. I love the word MAYA. The word came to me in a dream many years ago when I began to do these practices every single day and I began to see my life change for the better. I became happier and healthier. I have joy everyday because of these simple practices. They grow on each other as well, like a limb of a tree, all of the other limbs are friends to that limb. The practices work that way. The more space we create in our minds and bodies, the more room we have for ourselves. Morning and evenings based around preparation and self care. Practices that you look forward to that nourish the Mind, Body, and Spirit. Make your LIFE your ultimate medicine!
These five ways are the beginning. Try them. Remember that you can read a hundred books on yoga or meditation or how to get a better life but everything manifests in action. In the present moment. In not only setting intentions but in doing the work. And the work creates a beautiful life. I love the word MAYA. The word came to me in a dream many years ago when I began to do these practices every single day and I began to see my life change for the bett eoru.r sIe lbveecsame happier and healthier. I have joy everyday because of these simple practices. They grow on each other as well, like a limb of a tree, all of the other limbs are friends to that limb. The practices work that way. The more space we create in our minds and bodies, the more room we have fr